Impossible Uncanon
by Morgane Lurker
Summary: [Written for the dA Acheronfans' OTP challenge] Two madcaps in the same cell, fighting over a love interest they both want... Erol x Maia, Jak x Maia.
1. The Dark Ones

**Title: Impossible Uncanon  
Genre: Romance/Angst  
Pairing: Erol x Maia **

Note: A response to the challenge ''OTP, Baby!'' from the Acheron-fans over at dA. For you who don't know, it consists in writing or drawing something with either Gol or Maia paired up with another J&D character - and I picked Erol and Maia, since I love the idea ever since I saw Mandypandaa's lovely picture 'A match made in hell'. Go give her some love, because she's an awesome artist!

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**IMPOSSIBLE UNCANON  
Chapter 1:  
The Dark Ones once were normal people- **

- Stated the cover of Weekly Science. Erol browsed forward through the magazine's pages until he found the familiar centrespread, and began to read. Scientists had, according to the article, archived decades of information about the famous Dark Ones, Gol and Maia Acheron - from the siblings's distinguished timeline to their downfall in their own Eco silo. Even a small bowl of Precursor metal was mentioned, believed to be the mythical chamber vessel Gol Acheron had first captured fluid Dark Eco in.

The commander jumped a few paragraphs and continued reading.  
Highlight of it all was an ancient painting, dug out by Haven museum's archaeologists during an excursion to Dead Town. It pictured the two conspirators dealing orders to a herd of lurkers, and theories said the unknown artist had known exactly how the siblings looked in order to paint them so terrifying. After careful restoration, the science team could - for the first time since the originals lived - show the Acherons to the world.

Here Erol skipped the following text, down to Maia's inset portrait next to her brother's ditto.

Charismatic - That was the first word that came to the redhead's mind when he looked at her face. Maia's gaze was cold, proud and reptilian at once; Intelligent it glared back at him through the centuries, a consuming flame in the middle of a rain droplet.  
She must have been a good second-in-commander to her brother; pity the woman was dead, indeed…

The redhead came to a halt in his thoughts. Running an index over the Acheronian jaw line, he picked them up again.  
Where goes the line between interest and passionate obsession for a complete stranger, a stranger whom to cap it all was dead since long ago?

He laughed bitterly - wasn't he a little too young to have pictures of old deceased flames stashed away in his sleeping quarters? And he couldn't excuse this obsession with Maia Acheron as the usual fan-to-idol-love. Those consisted in affection sources like a good singing voice or a great personality. Proud as Erol was. he claimed to have both. But…

This one-sided love was still a castle in Spain.

It was getting ridicilous: Every girl in town would enjoy having a class one racer taking them out for a date, but the only one he wanted right now was a woman, who's skin literally was made of waxed paper.  
''What a joke'', the redhead mused, and got up to fetch a glass of water from the restroom's hand basin.

Plus, as a tiny voice hissed at the back of his mind - even if Maia Acheron had been alive today, she would have been an Eco freak, just the same as that boy in prison cell 7021. It was never said out loud, but rumours circulated about how Krimzon Guards whom entered the cell could end up damaged for life.

But to sum this up? The commander stopped on the way back to his couch, the glass of water in his hand. He imagined Maia as something better than the kid, whom only used his capricious powers to degrade the commander and the KG staff. Mar, anybody who could master Dark Eco with more control than self-control owned bits of the commander's respect!

In his imagination, Erol pictured Maia as…A mastermind, assisting another mastermind in recreating the world, eccentric from the substance that scorched her skin. But the same respect the redhead felt for Dark Eco masters also made him fear this Jak-person. No matter if the Eco drove the boy insane and made him use his alleged powers to something as bestial as to run amok on soldiers, he could get troublesome one day-  
Erol's line of thoughts was interrupted when the door flew up.

''Sir, we need you down at prison section ten!'' The guard panted from a heavy run through the fortress. Water splashed out of the glass between Erol's fingers, leaving an unpleasant humidity in the glove fabric - he had nearly forgot his surroundings the past minutes, so to speak. With a steel leer, he faced the soldier's reflection in the closet-door mirror diagonally in front of him.

'' This is my day off, Aubrey. You'll be in an awful lot of need to consult me now.''

The youngster in the door opening fidgeted nervously under Erol's mirrored gaze; His errand suddenly seemed ridiculously banal.  
''Someone needs to watch over a prisoner in section ten while he cleans up in his cell-''  
Erol clenched his free fist, and promised himself to have an appointment with his subordinates about what kind of people they let into the elite squad.

''Do I have to come down there and show you how to use fire arms?'' He snapped. But in a sudden wish to show this newcomer how the work should be done, the commander added a reply he'd regret a lot later:

''All right, I'll watch over the prisoner - without a weapon, even. Which cell is it?''

It took the astonished soldier a moment to read from a writing pad, and then stutter out:  
'' Uh…Cell 7021, sir''.

What a coincidence! Already a small part of Erol wanted to take back the promise to go unarmored right into Eco freak's nest, but if he changed his mind now the guards might lose faith in him… With a small 'thuff', the gun landed on the commander's bed where he threw it. In the same movement Erol's gaze fell on Weekly Science. Picking it up, he gave Maia Acheron's portrait a last glance, before he closed the magazine and tucked it under the last page of his writing pad.

''Are you going to bring that one with you, sir?'' Private Aubrey spectated the little scene from his position in the door opening. Erol smirked at him.  
''Better up, soldier. I intend to read it, too''. The commander chuckled to himself, and rolled the magazine together in his hand. If he already had thrown the gun, it probably didn't matter whether he was reading or not when hell came rolling.

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**Morgane: Phew, first chappie done! Hope you liked it D!**


	2. 23:00, The prison

**Chapter 2**

**23:00, the prison**

The electronically manoeuvred door slid away, and Erol stepped over a bold metal girder that made up the high doorstep. A light shudder rose up along his neck - last week two guards had dragged a barefoot and struggling prisoner down the rough steel ramp he stood in front of now, and traces of dried crimson were yet visible at the foot of it.

Erol walked through the last pair of doors, and reached the end destination.

Complete silence reigned in this section, save for a few human-generated whines in the corners. They'd heard him come with condemning steps, and were now afraid of what would happen to them. Commander Erol could drag these unfortunate souls out of their cells in the middle of the night, or punish a certain someone for rule breaks they didn't know existed.

High above, invisible due to ruling pitch darkness, was the roof. Jailbirds up there didn't see light whatever time of day it was, just the thin bright stripe far below, or the shine from a guard's state sponsored flashlight.

Erol felt like a conductor whom enters the stage right before a concert. He held the baton, and would hence decide the outcome of it all. He gave _Weekly Science _a light squeeze, and walked up to the door marked 7021.

Someone had been daring enough to come close to put a bucket with water and a washing cloth outside. The commander picked up the devices and unlocked the door with his security pass.

When the room inside revealed, an odour of blood and vomits instantly struck the redhead's face. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the sight of the filthy floor, and the frown only deepened at the notice of a heap with dirty rags in the middle of it all. But upon closer inspection, it revealed to be the prisoner himself.

Erol's hands were shaking, and if it weren't for the fact he held a magazine in one hand and a water bucket in the other, he'd clamp his fists for the second time this day.

'' Clean this mess up, boy'' he ordered, and put the burdens down with various rustles and rattles. Jak didn't reply, toying with a spoon he used to eat the lousy prison food with.

'' You know the rules'' the commander continued, annoyed by this unfazed reception.'' The one who sullies this place also gets rid of the trash. We don't want some nasty diseases running freely here, want we Jak?''

He paused, waiting for a reluctant nod. When this never came, he took three long steps over to the boy and grabbed him by a stinging neck grip.

'' Clean this place up, _now_. Else I'll load the Dark Eco injector and give you an extra round.'' A smirk crept across Erol's lips at the mention of Dark Eco, as the picture of Maia Archeron's silvery face flashed past his inner vision.

Jak paled slightly under the layer of dust on his face: though he hated the commander, a refusal like this one wasn't worth more injections before the one scheduled tomorrow. Huffing, he crawled up on all his four.

Quickly Erol took aim and kicked him in the small of his back, causing Jak to fly face-first into a dried crimson stain. It stung when his bottom lip scraped the floor, and a bitter taste of iron filled his mouth. But after a brief second with his nose in the dirt, he spun around to confront Erol.

´The man still stood with one foot raised, but as he noticed the boy's attention on him, he put it down.

'' Thought I'd rub your nose into it'' the commander smirked, but at once he became stern again.

''Don't give me that weak so called death glare'' he snorted. '' Back to work, rat!''

-----

The dull hush from the washing cloth against stone tiles soon filled the room, as Jak scrubbed the floor. At first the water in the bucket beside him turned grey, until it slowly darkened to a deep red shade. He wet the rag in the liquid, twisted it, and washed a piece of the floor before repeating the procedure all over again. It was a monotonous work, during which Jak's eyelids began to feel heavy.

The shape at the door also began to lose his strict posture. For two hours he had stood on guard, and now his knees began to feel numb. With a quite uninterested glance towards the plodding, stepped on kid he carefully opened _Weekly Science _and flipped up the article again. Sinking into his own little world, Erol began to study Maia's portrait closer.

Slings of platinum spread over her silvery skin and cheeks, from the roots below her bronzed helmet and out of the frame; at the whole, the woman reminded him of an exclusive and old-fashioned ornament he could've found in Baron Praxis' palace. That hair must've felt like linen to touch - at least it had the same gleam and fineness. Maia's neck was a graceful shape against the blonde shock of hair, and Erol could feel a knit in his brow beam down into his forearms as he frustrated suppressed a thought count Veger would call 'impure'.

Supporting his head in his palm, the commander returned to studying the female's face with deep fascination.

Meanwhile Jak had finally completed his task. After a relieving stretch of his back the boy got up and reached for the bucket beside his feet, and with surprisingly little clatter it left the floor. Jak began to walk in the commander's direction, the bucket swinging by his knees; the redhead seemed too occupied with his reading to notice the boy padding around. What kind of literature could be that interesting? Probably…

Jak was diagonally behind Erol, when his gaze fell on the magazine page in his lap.

A surprised yelp escaped him.

'' Maia! -''

´The kid's first word ever.

He'd never thought he would see Maia here, not at this of all places-

_''Deal harshly with anybody who strays too far…''_

Flashbacks of her face, Misty Island and lurkers in dozens - it was like a poison bottle cracked inside the boy and the content leaked out in his veins.

_''DO SOMETHING! STOP HIM!''_

No longer could he decide what was for real or not, or if he spoke every insanity that went through his deviating mind and his fury surfaced-

Erol jumped at the sound of fizzling bolts behind him, and more suspecting than knowing he let go off the magazine a split second before five ebony claws went through it. He rolled away, as if the attacking beast he had seen in the corner of his eye was a splinter grenade in the trench. Stopping three metres away, Erol threw another glance towards the creature.

The pale skin slowly returned to normal, while Jak entangled the impaled journal from his shortcut nails and turned right page up.

Vermillion- wasn't that a lovely name on an awful colour? Fitted Maia's eyes perfectly, theysugarcoated malice. Actually, it was kind of funny seeing the woman here in a prison of all places.

''So what is your sentence, miss Acheron?'' Jak thought to himself. ''A lifetime for aid in crimes against the world, haha. But Maia, you were an Ecofreak like I am today, honey. You're dead since long ago, plus your brother's work should be more interesting to the ones pulling the strings of the Dark Warrior Program''.

So why was Erol interested in Maia Acheron? Could - no, it was absurd, he couldn't be attracted by just a picture… But at the other hand, he wasn't a man known to be sane. You always learned something from listening to the guards' gossip, but loving a depictured woman was nonetheless a very long shot in Jak's opinion.

----

Erol couldn't sit quiet on the floor and watch this vermin dominate him like a well-behaved lapdog obeying its master any longer; it was humiliating to someone in his powerful position. The incessant silence grew miles-wide between them, until something suddenly snapped inside the redhead. Whatever it was, it made him volatile and daring enough to laugh -a quivering chuckle- at the Eco-freak before him.

'' Why so interested in her image, boy? Bet they hadn't women like her where you come from-''

'' I'd just ask you the same'' Jak made a brute interruption with his fists raised, effectively cutting the babble off. The commander had no weapon on his hand, and therefore he was bound to be cautious; If Jak's growing dark powers took over again, and he wished to turn Erol into mincemeat, the man would be helpless.

Erol flashed him a smug grin, deciding it was better to be careful than scornful at the moment.

'' I asked first, didn't I? I am sort of… Curious about your interest in Maia. I want to hear the reason why''.

The boy gave him a sideways glance that could've killed a Metal head, but his jaw remained clamped shut. It was obvious he didn't find an unarmed KG a horrid reason enough to start talking. While crawling up at his feet, Erol released another chuckle.

'' You expect me to tell you about my interest in this? Dead wrong, kid''.

Jak sank the redhead's defence with a mocking shrug of his shoulders and a fatally honest shard of his thoughts.

'' Sorry. I just thought you got the hots for Maia's face.''

All words intended hitched halfway up Erol's throat, and turned into a sharp huff.

'' How can you even venture- why do you think so?'' He changed to the most openminded

And truthfully inquiring voice he could obtain at this point.

Jak's facial expression morphed dramatically the next few moments; Surprise - It passed with this little? Confusion - What was going on here? His realization Erol had tossed back the ball, and at last an almost mocking eyebrow rose at the commander:

'' Going by your reaction at her picture, it wasn't so hard to figure it out''.

This time Erol didn't answer because to do so would be to tell the boy what he wanted to hear.

Erol rather died than obliged Eco Freak.

'' I believe it's time for you to retire to the cell, not feed yourself with gossip like another old hag. Give me the publication, and I'll look past the walls and roof you haven't cleansed''.

Was this to escape an oncoming fight? The redhead didn't think so. More like burn all the bridges save for one: If Jak refused now merely to piss the commander off, he'd not just spend the night cleaning, but Erol would have the pleasure to humiliate him further.

However the unforeseen issue was, while Erol kept his life in firmly drawn reins, Jak in turn fought to not lose control of his.

It made him remarkable more attached to what he had left.

'' Your body language says something else. You wouldn't act this meek, if getting back the damn rag wasn't important''. Obstinately he held one page pinched between two fingers, so the magazine's entire weight rested on it. Erol twitched his nose, watching how the glossy paper first strained, and then a sharp notch sprung up over Maia's face.

'' So ''. Jak grasped _Weekly Science _with all five fingers, ''if you want it, you have to go through me first''.

Erol bared his teeth, and made a short run.

''EEAAGH!'' He lunged at Jak, whom quickly took a step aside. The magazine in his grip swung violently, hanging merely in the slip of paper that was page 32. It didn't end better than that _Weekly Science _ripped apart, and the major part rolled further away from Erol. Gloating, Jak took a step back so he stood between the rag and the redhead.

'' Told you you'd have to go through me first''.

A vindictive response was just about to roll off Erol's tongue, but as if he suddenly came to better thoughts, the commander indolently lowered his fist and turned - perhaps to leave?

'' Fine, have her image. In fact it means nothing now when it's destroyed. Keep those puny little shreds if they're worth dying for, I'll just fetch a chair to sit on and watch while you rinse this place''.

Erol couldn't hold back a twitch of his lips as he walked out. Now this converted psychology should make Jak despise the magazine as ingratiating fawning from the redhead. If he was lucky, the blonde would throw it aside. He hoped so badly…

'' Trying to make it sound like this was all my fault, huh?''

The redhead' mind spun, as did his body. Eco Freak stood there steadily facing him with stern glare, and continued:

'' Weak, Erol. You're weak. One'd expect you to care more about dear possessions than this''.

The blonde could see how a vein close to Erol's temple pounded angrily, as the commander began closing in on him. Instinctively Jak strained his muscles.

'' Dammit boy, I might think her face is attractive, but Maia Acheron's dea-'' Erol was cut off when a strong foot hit him in the stomach, forced him backwards and tripping on the washing cloth.

The crash of armour against metal floor travelled through every floor panel, every joint, and every nerve. Erol landed on his back, for a short moment out of breath from the thud.

His full senses returned with a vengeance when Eco Freak stepped into vie, his emotionless face hovering high above.

'' Go ahead then'' Erol attacked, ''beat me up, I wont worry. Tomorrow I come back here armed and guarded, and the only body contact required will be while strapping you to the Eco chair!'' He began crawling away from the blonde, who had gotten a dangerous glimpse in his earlier so frightened gaze.

The situation was much too desperate. Neither of the combatants stuck to their original opinions, because it would be like to give up the canons during battle. Instead, they just concentrated on breaking one another. Jak followed the redhead to the inner corner, grabbing the forgotten bucket of water in passing.

'' Is…Isn't this a little too excessive for just one woman?'' Erol locked eyes with his opponent's vindictively dark gaze, but met no pity in them.

'' That's what I've thought all along, Erol''.

'' She's not even alive these days!''

'' My point exactly, so why do you like her face?'' Jak halted and surveyed the commander. Erol swallowed dryly - if he did not particularly wish to be humiliated by this rat, the only way out seemed to be to speak the truth.

So he did what Jak wished after all - how ignominious. Erol had rather bitten his tongue off, but had to choose the less harmful of two things.

'' Yes! Yes, supposedly I like her, happy now? She happened to be ridiculously good-looking for being an Eco Freak! I'm crazy for loving her looks and not being able to stop it, retrieve the mag now thank you very much!''

The flow of words stem, and the commander's features sharpened. The boy rubbed the hint of beard stubble on his chin, eyeing the redhead.

'' Then one was right all along, I guess''. Precursors, the worst thing with this boy were how easy he saw through facades.

'' Give me the magazine, obviously it doesn't please you!'' Erol tried to lung for the item, but a sullied foot swaddled in fabric pressed against his trunk. He grumbled, annoyed.

'' What now? You can't force me to repeat it all over again!''

Jak barked out a laughter - how very unlike his former self- and hoisted up the bucket.

'' Of course not!'' The blonde grinned jeeringly, a conceited smile by a man who momentarily doesn't reflect over the effects of his actions.

'' Just thought I'd rub your nose into it''. Thereafter he turned the bucket over, and slops gushed into Erol's terrified eyes and gaping mouth, no chance given to wield himself.

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**And there you have it, the second chapter D Only one left, and this story will be finished).**


	3. Aftermath

**Third and final chapter, dearies. I****'****d like to give a shout, and thank, them who have read this fanfic both at and dA. You guys rock!**

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**Chapter Three**

**Aftermath**

The man spat and hissed like a cat, when the stinking water filled his throat and nostrils. Eliding a guttural noise he bent forward and coughed up the unhealthy liquid, all while Jak's mind inevitably arose from the dark pit it had fallen into. Had he really…?

Precursors, this couldn't become undone. As the dripping of water slowly tuned out, all that could be heard was Erol's laboured breath. He snapped his head up to look at the boy, whom had shrunken back to his usual insecure, silent self. Every fibre in the commander's body quaked, as he burst out in a fit of insults.

'' Imp! Devilry! Monster! Adder bait!''

Jak's apathetic expression scrunched up in angry wrinkles. His already crumbling mercy and patience completely withered - after all Erol had degraded both Maia and him. It didn't even soften him when the commander during exasperated sobs began yanking at his tattered clothes. Rage blazed up in a heartbeat, and Jak's dark form attacked.

He never heard when Erol's taunts shifted to plagued cries and shrieks. It felt like his head was under water and the rest of his body inside a thundercloud with electric bolts flashing back and forth through the muscles. Fingernails tore ground scratches at his victim's neck and cheeks, soon entering and exiting them as charcoal claws.

'' You! Let me go!'' The red pain from every Eco stained wound wedged into Erol's skin, almost driving him further out of his mind, as every ounce of sanity fled. A new round of furious swipes with all claws out, before a finishing kick in the guts made him bow and sink forward to the floor.

It took a while to realize the maltreatment had ceased, that no rough fangs ripped at his skin any longer. But when Erol grasped the situation, he instantly bolted up.

Rills of crimson branched over his smooth jacket, and dripped from the hem down to the floor. Fazed with the scenery, the commander gaped and stared until he traced the blood trails to himself and his attacker, the boy who was now returning to his normal form. Their gazes met, and Erol gripped harder around the doorframe he supported onto, opening and closing his mouth like a fish partaking air from water poor of oxygen. At last the redhead realized there was nothing to use as a psychological striking weapon - if he threatened to use armed violence or more powerful Eco injections, what plague would this boy suffer that he hadn't suffered before?

A whining snort, and Erol stumbled out of the sullied cell. The concerto ended with an aria of screams tonight.

Jak's shoulders heaved strainedly at every inhale, before the blonde eventually retired into a dry corner. Huddling his arms around himself, the boy fell into a dozing state.

So Erol thought he loved Maia - or at least her visage - truly and faithfully. Well, better hope he was proven otherwise tonight. Hope the penny dropped.

You couldn't love Maia entirely unless you had seen all of her sides. Not just the dark, withering plant of a madman's experiments - Really, once upon a time she had been a captivating woman from the North. He could still recall how she, during the most insipid Sages' Council ever witnessed, slipped out of her chair and gathered the few children in the village around her.

Neither of them had seen any adult woman like Maia before; White and mystic, dressed in azure blue cassock, she simply thumped down on a log and taught them how to play at marbles.

With snowy blonde hair and chestnut irises - Goddammit, she had resembled a divinity, and Jak had been enchanted of her for the rest of the meeting.

''Did you notice the lad's fascination with Maia, Samos?'' The Yellow sage asked while they waited in the line for the teleport home. ''He was literally struck by her appearance!'' The man continued with a chuckle. Samos, tired by arguments over the council table, grunted something halfhearted.

''Which one of the sprogs wasn't?'' He swung his staff in the air, ''I guess they'd be magnificent babysitters, but Gol has a tendency to go on the rocks with his Eco!'' The staff had eventually lapsed, and hit Daxter's head.

The Yellow Sage didn't say anything, but the twist of his lips was talking enough.

'' Well then, it's up to you how you raise Keira and the boys, but I would never doubt to acquaintance them with fine old lineages like Acherons…''

Six years later he was among the first to get captured by the Dark Ones, while Samos made it as far as to Fire Canyon before he was overpowered.

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Jak opened his eyes to find the first sunrays peering in through the barred window.

The entire time until one year ahead of their fall from grace, Gol and Maia had acted like their usual selves, continuing to complain about clogged up Eco vents and maintaining their youthful vivid facades. Yet Jak had felt a twinge during the last meeting; Maia had seemed so taciturn and absent-minded, her eyes bearing a cold and aloof relish. But when she saw Jak's knitted and confused face, she burst out in laughter and told him that if he thought she looked awful today, he should see her after a day in the laboratory. Forcefully the boy had shaken his head, dumbly assuring that no, Maia didn't look bad at all!

In context, against the background of how Gol had experimented with the vicious substance on himself and his sister, Jak could say she had looked surprisingly healthy back then.

Though back then, people outside the little two-people Archeronian circuit came to call them freethinking individuals, devoted to their science. To experiment like the Dark Ones was not hazardous as 'that old fossil Hagai' said - it was innovative, and pioneering.

Sighing, Jak twisted on the floor. In spite of a dawning day, it was chilly in here.

The last time Maia had just swiftly showed up in the distance far above, yet undoubtedly she resembled a ghost more than a human. Jak had at least a bittersweet memory of whom she had been, while Erol had grown infatuated with solely the dark half. A knifepoint of her personality, one year about. Nonetheless the commander oversaw time, insanity and Dark Eco - but to see what?

Jak bit his bottom lip. Lust. It changed the most genius people to bumbling goofs, and the commander fed a desire, which would break like leaf gold when touched. If he ever had met the living Maia he'd notice that none could own her the way Erol owned people. She would have been too dominant for the power-hungry redhead.

It might have been just a silly childhood crush, still it felt good to know that even if Jak never won Maia, Erol wouldn't get her either. Finally something the man couldn't take away from him.

The man would of course treat Jak like air when he returned from his sick leave, not look into the prisoner's eyes, walk past his cell like any other cell - but ignorantly do it twice, to subconsciously prove himself there was nothing to fear.

That coward didn't deserve Maia. And luckily he'd never get a chance to her heart.

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So Maia was too good for him. Obviously the filthy Eco Freak was crazier than he pretended to be. Not only had he claimed to have known Maia Archeron, he even hinted that she had been better off with him. Birds of a feather flock together...

The mirror glass didn't break when his fist plunged into it, just swayed back and forth on its hinges, provokingly showing his battered image.

Erol winced when his fingers grazed the scarring flesh on his cheekbones. Tired of nursing his damaged face for tonight, the redhead most of all wanted to stop scrubbing, leave the restroom and peel off his garments. Slip into bed. But he didn't. That… Monster's claws had nearly torn his face to slices in moments! Thank Precursors the freak had let go at last, there could not be a death or permanent harm more degrading, more in lack of purpose of profit than if it was caused by a random madcap.

Erol was beginning to flare up, but stopped. He didn't want to. Loosing your temper once was one time too much. There should be grounds to stand on, time to bide before such acts were entitled.

When exiting his bathroom, the commander discovered a paper form on the desk in his room. In blaring letters it shouted out every possible advantage of subscribing to another six months with _Weekly Science. _Interesting articles, a free guidebook to the Forests -

Without a second thought, he scrunched up the offer and threw it in the waste-paper basket.

Then it was done. Better throw away the ad before he got any more absurd ideas and signed up for a continuing subscription and got himself into more humiliating situations like this evening's events. This obsession with one face had caused an embarrassment Erol could have experienced just as easily when these so called KG troopers patrolled the streets.

Drowsily climbing into bed with a pounding headache to accompany him, the commander shut his eyes. Thoughts floated towards Maia Acheron's portrait. Such a fool he'd been, skirmishing over a simple image. Who in their right mind did so?

Maybe the past month's stress inevitably had gone to his head. Maybe his soldiers did the right thing when they got themselves women from the town, or hid pictures of their fiancés in lockers and pillowcases. They might get into fights over these female companies, but at least the reason was something concrete, present and logical.

Possibly, Erol thought before falling asleep, one should find a lady on home ground.

Like this garage mechanic, she whom used to serve his zoomers.

**Fin**

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_Author's Note: _Yes, yes, I too noticed that it should be 'second-in-command', not 'commander', but I just thought it began to look too clumsy and repetitive, simply stealing attention in the context.

But anyways, first longer story finished! Now I'll probably move onto some Matrix-fanfics, but still I'd like to write more J&D fanfics. See ya!

- Morgane

**Minor edits done 20.07.2009**


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